Masquerade
by Roses Bride
Summary: The Academy is everything Dennis has ever known and he is a soldier, trained for planning two steps ahead and for dealing with the worst case scenarios, yet when he took upon this mission, the first thing he was told was that curiosity killed the cat, but he's above that ...or so he hopes.


**Masquerade – Act I – His Side**

" _One of the greatest tragedies in life is to lose your own sense of self and accept the version of you that is expected by everyone else."_

 **K.L. Toth**

' _Too gaudy_ ' He thought discarding a red jacket, meant to be reminiscent of the classic circus MC costume. Dennis had considered that along a dark top hat it would give him a 'mysterious' air, seemed a good enough way of calling up attention from the pedestrians.

Too bad it made him look too much like an Osiris dorm member instead.

This shouldn't be that difficult, looking over at his bed, his desk, the floor and pretty much every surface of his dorm room at all the discarded clothes on them, from colorful shirts, to elegant-looking dark suits, many types of hats, capes and masks and he was sure some dorm mate had even borrowed him a clown suit.

He still wasn't sure it was meant as a joke or not.

At this point though it seemed like the best choice, nobody took clowns seriously, much less thought of them as a threat… But the idea of making a fool of himself and making balloon shapes…he suppressed a groan, it just rubbed him in the wrong way.

"Dennis Macfield I assume?" said a sing-song voice at his window.

There he was, sitting on his window frame without a care in the world, despite his wide smirk his eyes looked vacant and bored, and he wore an ornate purple Academy uniform and …was that _a cape?_ Still it fitted him like a glove, no matter how _tacky_ it looked to Dennis.

Yuri

" _Yes of course!_ At your service" Dennis responded, bowing deeply while taking off the top hat, it helped him gather his guts to give a wide smile when he looked up, he had heard stories about this guy, if Dennis proved to be a nuisance to him, Yuri would get rid of him at the first chance.

"Not bad, not bad…" Said the boy giving his room an once-over, and then fixing his magenta eyes on him. "Keep the hat, nothing yellow though, with that hair and hat it will make you look like corncob" Dennis heeded immediately, thanking the heavens that Yuri had been the only one to ever notice the admittedly good comparison.

Of course, once Yuri had invited himself into his room, from all the clothes around he just _had_ to pick the clown costume.

"This is your first infiltration mission isn't?" Yuri mockingly asked, and Dennis had to suppress the urge of huffing and pointing out that _this_ was the first infiltration mission of the war, ever.

But he wasn't _that_ eager to be sealed into a card.

"What do you mean?" He asked instead, noticing for the first time that Yuri seemed much younger than himself, shorter too, but seeing as Dennis himself was an early bloomer, he couldn't guess his age based on either of those things.

"All of these clothes, props…" he disdainfully discarded the clown costume and shook his head, heading for Dennis's nightstand. "…you are supposed to dress for _deceiving_ , not for trick and treating" Yuri finalized and started to make a mess of Dennis perfectly folded clothes. Still he remained silent.

"What do you suggest then?" asked Dennis.

"These are all your clothes?" asked in turn Yuri, ignoring his own question, he then pulled a really old blue dress shirt, an orange jacket and a couple of black gloves (Dennis didn't even remember he had those). "Try these on" ordered Yuri.

"The key for being a good spy is to _not_ call attention to yourself" Chided Yuri, and Dennis could almost hear the ' _you idiot_ ' in his tone, he gritted his teeth and kept on changing. Of course Dennis knew that, he wouldn't have been assigned to this mission if he wasn't good at it, the fact that he kept his cool around this little monster was an excellent proof.

No one, not even the seniors had volunteered for the mission once it was known it involved working with the Professor's little protégée.

He looked at his reflection, and a regular boy returned his gaze, the jacket didn't look half-bad and it seemed to go well with the sky blue of the shirt, even the gloves were a nice touch except…

"I am supposed to act as a street performer, no one will look at me twice with these on." It was supposed to be easier that way, it could take months to look at Heartland's citizens registry, but as an attraction people would come to him instead, in large numbers.

"Keeping people entertained is _your_ job, that's your new mask" Yuri said now sporting one of the masks in the room. "No self-respecting entertainer ever depended on his props to engage its audience" He said as he made his way to the hallway.

There was a warning on his voice, if Dennis wasn't up for the job, well it would be a shame if he would end up missing …or worse, things like these happen on the field. Just as he was about to ask for the mask back Yuri turned around and fixed his eyes on his

"Chill, if the first mask doesn't fit pick another one, try not to get too comfy though" said Yuri removing the mask. "Masks are meant to be removed, reused and discarded once they meet its purpose, but sometimes…" he walked up to Dennis again. "…They can get stuck… so much that removing them can be painful and bring out pieces of yourself with it"

Yuri then put the mask on Dennis face, and added: "…Or worse, sometimes you like them better than your actual face." He finished with a low was left staring at his retrating back, with only one thought:

 _'What did I got myself into?'_

Still, once he was sure Yuri was out of earshot he released a sigh and started to fold everything back, it wasn't until the curfew announcement that he realized he still had the mask on.

 **§§§**

Arriving had been a surprise, he had heard his instructors talk about it countless of times, he had heard it referred as "The City of the Future" by some of his classmates, but none of them had made it justice, even if he had landed in a non-descriptive alley, he was awed at all the beautiful lights and buildings, and their crazy designs so many colors that he had almost felt dizzy, excited, delighted even, a feeling that had only intensified during that night at the sight of the central tower of the Government (or so he assumed) was adorned with intricate spirals that ended in a huge heart-shaped crown, which could be seen from every spot in town.

The staff in the Academy had thought of everything, a Xyz duel disk, along with a new Xyz deck made up of Stage Magicians, they've given fake ID and documents and even money; most of all Dennis could not complain about the one-room loft he had been given the keys to, really he was just glad he wouldn't have to set a camp on some park or under a bridge.

It was August so he would not arise suspicion hanging around downtown on school hours. Not that many people bothered him in the first place, not even for being a foreigner, people in Heartland were an awfully laidback lot compared to the Academy.

That would be their downfall.

Over the next couple of days he had entered a routine of sorts, woke up, get ready, practice in front of the mirror, loitering around doing card tricks was a good way of calling attention of little kids whose parents later Dennis promised to give a great _showtime_ around noon and tell them to make sure to bring friends and the entire family. His enthusiastic voice sprinkled with English phrases and friendly gestures always managed to draw out a giggle from them.

All that was left to do once he found an ideal spot in downtown for his performances, near a park, where lots of kids of school age would spend their free time; was to keep his eyes open for any girl who wore a winged bracelet with a golden jewel on the center, he had nothing else to go by, no name, not even a general description, just that she should be about his own age.

Ah girls, girls where an entire different matter when it came to the audience, girls usually hanged out in groups and acted all shy and giggling when he directed his sights to them, he solved it by using an audience participation part in order to separate the ones who seemed to be wearing jewelry, the 'charming prince' act was a fan favorite.

So far no winged bracelet had been sighted, neither had he been contacted by Yuri, who seemed to be in no hurry to do so anyway, but it was not wasted time, he regularly updated the maps he had been provided and kept mental notes of the dueling schools with the best reputations around.

It wasn't until he started to occasionally duel audience members; about a week after; by the time he had already seized a loyal audience who attended at least every other day to his shows, that he noticed her.

The first time it had sent a chill down his spine, it was the last show in the evening it was dark and he had only caught a flash of pink and purple that had him thinking the worst: Yuri had gotten tired of waiting and he was going to … _take care_ of him. It had led Dennis to a sleepless night, jumping at the slightest noise near the window.

The second time, his sleep deprivation had gotten him to order a triple coffee at the nearest location first time in the morning, he jumped at the sight of the same shade of purple dashing on the front of the store, but soon realized that it was much darker than Yuri's violet hair, oh right! The shape had also been wearing a dress…he really needed that coffee, he thought rubbing his eyes.

By the sixth or seventh time the same girl had made herself visible, he caught onto the fact that she was always, _always_ on the back of the crowd, or the one who _always_ put a couple of extra coins in the hat. Little things he kept on noticing, like her held gaze every time he asked for a volunteer, or the strand of hair she pretended to be playing with when he tried to look back at her.

It was only until the tenth time, when she seemed to gather the courage to step forward the front that he noticed the golden glow on her wrist, along the little wings adorning it.

 **§§§**

At times the mind has a curious way of storing information, different priorities and personalities choose to focus on different details, and even the emotion of the moment makes you notice insignificant things or makes you willingly blind to others.

Even so, your mind stores _everything_ it might be of importance for later, like pieces of a puzzle, and it sits there waiting for another piece to mend together of a new light or angle for perspective; and no matter how complete the puzzle looks it's just until the last piece falls into place that you can make full sense of it.

That summed up Dennis experience of finding the Bracelet Girl aka. Ruri Kurosaki.

As he laid on his makeshift bed (actually a futon on the floor) while looking at his duel disk, the screen glowed in the dark room with just one message on the screen:

"I FOUND THE GIRL, PREPARE FOR THE INVASION"

He just needed to hit the 'Send' button and it would be over, he would be back at the Academy, back to his dorm, maybe he would be even be promoted, after all this was the stepping stone of the Academy's- no, the Professor's goal.

He wouldn't have to come back to this blasted place, with all its people, its pretty lights, colorful buildings and laughter, he wouldn't have to think of this place again, he wouldn't be the one taking Ruri that would be all Yuri's doing, no sweat there.

It shouldn't have to leave a bitter taste on his mouth or a hollow feeling on his stomach.

 ***WHOOSH* *POP* *BANG***

Fireworks, he wasn't sure what these people were even celebrating but the sudden explosion of sounds and colors peering from his window startled him, made his hand slip, and when he looked down at the screen again the "Message Sent" words stared back at him.

"It's done" he muttered for himself, as he plopped down with one arm covering his eyes; but instead of relief a heavy feeling seethed on his chest.

 **§§§**

Dennis was currently gulping down his second coffee of the day (another triple one) while seriously wondering if all of this was Yuri's idea of a joke, a really cruel, mean-spirited joke at that, but as usual he hadn't dared to question him and his sick mind games

Even if Dennis wasn't the main target, he still thought it was a bit too much.

The teasing and innuendos Yuri made once he told him the full story, only made it worse, Dennis had been trying very hard to ignore the implications of the girl assisting to almost every one of his shows even those with a repeated routine, and her eagerness during their dueling.

Almost as hard as he avoided the reason why it took him so long to notice the damn bracelet.

A part of him knew he should have expected this, he knew Yuri made sense, they needed to check her background, her routine, her friends, her family, and everything about Ruri Kurosaki's daily life would be needed in order to trap her.

That was without mentioning all the preparations needed for the first attack.

' _Besides, you were the one who jumped at the opportunity to leave the Academy_ ' He still remembered the loud gulp he gave and the soft chuckle Yuri gave in response during his call. ' _Did you really thought it would be so easy?_ ' Of course not, he wasn't living lavishly by all means, but he had thought it was _way_ too generous that they had gone to the trouble of lending him a place to stay and money.

Now it was time to pull his weight.

"Dennis?" He shook his head, having been snapped from his musings. "Sorry, am I too late?" The girl asked looking down at his cup, she was actually five minutes early.

" _Of course not!_ Please sit down and don't look so down _milady!_ I was merely in need for an extra cup" he started, mask in place "I lost too much sleep over the thought of spending an evening with such a _lovely lady_ " He made sure to use his hands and look as dismayed as much as possible. Acting as a flirt during his performances was one thing, but now…

Maybe his eyes had been the ones avoiding to look the big picture and his mind complied until it was shoved right in front of him, yes, people say the mind is a plaything of the body.

As he looked at the way Ruri Kurosaki shook her head to the side trying to hide her smile, and taking a seat across his table, he couldn't have agreed more.

 **Masquerade – Act II – Her Side**

" _The irony of life is that those who wear masks often tell us more truths than those with open faces."_

 **Marie Lu, The Rose Society**

It was _not_ a date, she had just asked him to hang out in a nearby café. To say Ruri was surprised when he said yes would be an understatement

The first time she saw his show it had been rather lackluster to say the least, all her neighbors and friends had been telling her wonders of the street performer visiting Heartland, one of her classmates had been so smitten that Ruri couldn't help but become curious.

Still as she neared his stand to leave a couple coins, she felt willing to give this 'Magician' (That's what her classmate called him) a chance, who knew how many shows a day he had been doing, it was probably exhausting having to smile at everyone all the time.

When he caught a sight of her, a look of pure panic crossed his features, instead of feeling offended, she was awed struck at the sight of an off-guard boy scared for his life.

The second time it had been a coincidence, she hadn't been expecting to see him acting just yet, Ruri was just passing by a café early on the morning, when she caught sight of his disheveled hair and stopped for a moment, he was hunched and looked tired as he ordered something (coffee?) not a wink, a smile, or even a twinkle in his eyes as he paid to the (very pretty) cashier, and then he was looking at her with half-squinted eyes as if he couldn't be sure if she was trick of the light, a mirage, or something like that, she left in panic at being caught staring.

She had been attending to his shows almost religiously after that.

Ruri had been watching intently from distance, specifically she had been looking for his face, after getting to see his …open self, she had taken a liking to check for any cracks on his expression, not out of some sick enjoyment but just in …curiosity? Both faces had been so different she couldn't imagine the effort to change from one to another on regular basis, every single day (did he ever took days off?).

The cracks were most apparent when he called for participants in the audience, she could see his keen eyes scrutinizing the audience, always stopping on girls (she had yet to see him take a male to his improvised stage) pretty, fixed-up and fashionable girls. It was just for a couple seconds but she noticed the searching, calculating once-over he gave them, she remembered noticing his eyes drifting to some of the jewelry they wore, she had thought the worst for a moment but she let it go after the number was over with the girl back at the crowd, her accessories intact.

She had also realized he had started to notice her as well, but instead of goading her to the front of the crowd as she feared, the boy had merely winked at her as if sharing some private joke and continued with the show, that's how it went for a couple of days, another wink here, a hidden lopsided smile because of a clingy girl, sideways rolled eyes when some girl's boyfriend tried to intimidate him.

Little things like that had become more and more frequent until she found herself at being the "Girl of the Day".

There was no warning, one moment she was with the audience and the next the floor had disappeared from under her feet and a shiny giggling monster gently deposited her in front of the kneeling performer.

"Trapeze Magician has definitely chosen you, please grant me a Duel!" He asked, holding out to her, and barring a minor hesitance Ruri felt like playing along:

"I would love to! But first I have to know thy name, oh, valiant warrior!" She exclaimed reaching out as well the other hand over her chest, any other time she would have felt ridiculous, but seeing him flinch and his mildly startled face quickly turned into a sheepish gesture had made it all worth it.

"Well, well it appears that I've found a comrade-in-arms! What do you think dear audience! Should we trust thy fair but ferocious _lady?_ " After an affirmative uproar from the crowd he continued. "I formally introduce myself _milady_ , Dennis Macfield at your service!" This time he removed his hat and bowed to her.

Now momentarily satisfied Ruri proceeded to duel.

 **§§§**

"Stop that" She starts.

" _Pardon me_? _Milady_ I'm afraid I don't…" He stopped when she fixed him with a glare, Ruri knew she was being rude, but she didn't want to hear his excuses.

"I said stop with the 'milady' and all that stuff from your show! I didn't invite you here to talk to your …character" she finished with a huff.

She peeked from the corner of her eye to see if he would just leave her there because of her outburst, he looked off-putted by it but otherwise didn't motion to stand.

"Fine, fine, you caught me red-handed…" Dennis finally says with a shrug, and Ruri watched with interest how his entire demeanor changed, his shoulders hung a little, his arm and legs did the same, and even his face changed, he was still smiling, but it didn't look 'perfect' anymore instead it was more laid-back…she still couldn't use the word 'natural' to describe it, if anything she could have never thought a relaxation would ever look so forced.

By the look of things she would have to settle with this…for now.

"Since we're being honest…Can I ask you why you invited me here then?" She heard Dennis ask with a guarded tone.

"I don't really know" She responded without missing a beat. She felt her temper rising up again at the utterly disbelieving look he gave her. "Don't give me that face either! It's not like I plan my life ten steps ahead or something" she practically growled.

An uncomfortable silence ensued in the café, and Ruri realized she was standing up with her hands flat against the table, all the customers and the waitress looking at her

"I just…wanted to get to know you better" She admitted sitting back and twiddling with her fingers, hoping her indignation hid the embarrassment.

"Don't sweat it over, I was the clueless one" Dennis started rubbing the back of his neck looking bashful. "I just thought….Is this not how these things are done?" He asked her looking at her with an almost helpless expression.

"What things?" she asked back, surely he couldn't mean…

"Dating"

….

Time stopped, sound disappeared and Ruri was sure the world had stopped spinning, she wasn't even sure she was breathing because it felt like she was frozen in place, the way Dennis said so as in a matter-of-fact manner coupled with his own admittance he didn't know how 'dating' worked…it just felt like a blow to her very core.

"Maybe this was a mistake" He finally said sighing and motioning to stand. "I get it, I'm not a very interesting person outside the stage" it was said as if he was apologizing.

Something in Ruri snapped after hearing this, and grabbed him by the sleeve before he could leave.

"Look let's just say that we're both clueless idiots and start over fine?" she started. "I'm sorry you I didn't mean to embarrass you, just…sit back please?" she begged, he looked uncertain for a moment but gave in after a second.

"Well clueless idiot or not, I can't leave a girl with the bill can I?" he said back smiling, and took back his seat.

"We split" she huffed sticking out her tongue.

"Wow, so this is definitely _not_ a date right?" He asked obviously containing a laugh, but he looked relieved.

"Are you kidding me? My brother would kill me and then kill _you_ if it were" She told him.

She was rewarded with a throaty laugh from Dennis.

"That…was a joke right?" he asked then in mock preoccupation.

"Half of it anyway, he would never kill _me_ " she grinned and brought her finger to her chin while saying this.

"You're right he would only lock you down into your room until your graduation" He retorted nodding with the same false innocence.

That day Ruri had learned that Dennis was a student of a Broadway dueling school, she found out he didn't really plan on staying too long, he called himself a _globetrotter_ (she looked it up, it was just a fancy word for traveler), she told him about her school, her brother, and about her aspirations to go to the local Dueling Pro School.

Yes, it had been a fun 'not-date'

 **§§§**

"So that was your brother" said Dennis like an afterthought.

"…Yes" She had found Dennis on the way back to give Shun the lunch their mom prepared for him, Ruri was off the school, but Shun still had to attend Dueling School, ' _Just_ _go ahead say it_ '

"…He seems nice" It was spoken with the most forced smile.

"I know he's a huge pig-head ok?" She admitted. "He has such a one-track mind and it's annoying as heck" she fumed at the memory of Shun having the gall to tell her she was late and not even thank her for coming all the way so he wouldn't starve.

"Ah, sibling love I've heard wonders about it" pipped in Dennis.

"Gah! Don't try to excuse him!" she exclaimed.

" _Take it easy_ , I'm an only child so I don't understand those things, but I like to think I would also annoy my little sister to death just because" he said smiling.

Ruri just slapped his arm, still she could never imagine her life without Shun, she held every annoyingly exasperating minute with him close to her heart, and she wondered if Dennis was trying to say he envied him.

 **§§§**

"Here, you can use mine" She neared him one day with an umbrella, he probably didn't read the weather reports as he was stranded under a nearby tree because of the downpour.

"What about you?" He said when he noticed she only had that one.

"We share you dummy" she teased.

"But I get to hold it right? You're way too small for the task" said Dennis teasing back.

"Shut up you're just too big!" she yelled shoving the umbrella into his hand.

' _Stupid foreigners with their tall genes_ ', she looked up at him again, _'He is really tall uh?_ ' she had been really surprised to learn he was just a year older than her.

As they walked down the park her fuming had subsided, thankfully the rain had made this place semi-deserted, she didn't need rumors about her and Dennis, ' _No big deal_ , _we are just sharing an umbrella_ ' but the thought only served to warm her face up.

"Are you ill? Your face-" asked Dennis

"I'm fine"

 **§§§**

Ruri's breath hitched as Dennis continued to take her by the arm to show her something _marvelous_. He wasn't necessarily dragging her, but his legs were larger and could walk faster than hers.

"We're here" he said finally stopping. "Behold the Duel Sanctuary!" She almost wanted to chide him for putting on an act again, but looking at his childlike excitement she realized it was sincere.

She felt her chest swell at the realization.

Ruri had heard about this place but never seen it, an old abandoned dojo that had been pretty famous but fell into obscurity after the death of the last owner, now it was mostly a place for teens to have their Tests of Courage.

It was a bit depressing.

But Dennis was enchanted by the place, especially the statues which he claimed were monsters he had never seen before.

They had been hanging out for several days now, and Ruri was starting to dread the first day of school, she didn't knew how long Dennis planned to stay but they wouldn't be able to hang out as often by then.

Still this was the first time she hanged out with Dennis after sundown, they were alone in a carnival night, and during the last summer festival of the city …looking at their sill conjoined arms her throat went dry.

' _Is this a date?_ '

 **§§§**

This isn't how it was supposed to be like.

The first time she were to be invited to a boy's place should have been years from now, it should have been after a date at least, they shouldn't be pressed against his door and his hand shouldn't have been on her mouth to muffle her voice.

There shouldn't be explosions heard in the distance, or marching armies of monsters in the streets. This was all wrong.

Finally the sound of diligent steps were gone from the hallways and screams had died down, his hand fell down, both of them fell into the floor trying to gather themselves.

"I have to go, I need to find Shun" she told him, her duel disk was useless and communications had been cut down.

"You can't go out, you didn't saw what they did, it's horrible" he shook his head, and went his way to block her way out.

"Dennis please, I know you're not from here, and I'm sorry that you got caught into this mess but…" She felt tears trailing down her cheeks. "Shun, my parents, my friends I have to check on them!" she practically choked.

She felt his arms surrounding her form embracing her, murmuring in her ear that things should calm down at night that she should rest for now.

Even as she tried to deny it she felt her limbs heavy, the last thing she saw before closing her eyes was a familiar sword-shaped light coming from Dennis duel disk.

 **§§§**

 **Aftermath – Unmasked –**

" _No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true."_

 _ **Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter**_

He let her lay on his futon. After confirming his duel disk remained functional, he contacted the superiors about starting to set up a camp by night, lest their provisions ran out. He also let them know that he would continue to act as a spy until further notice.

As Dennis crouched next to her covering her with a blanket, he took her hand in his. She was a strong-headed girl, she would avoid being hunted…until Yuri came.

A myriad of words kept ringing on his ears

' _But first I have to know thy name, oh, valiant warrior!_ '

' _Masks are meant to be removed_ '

' _I didn't invite you here to talk to your character_ '

' _Masks can get stuck and bring pieces of yourself with it_ '

' _I just…wanted to get to know you better_ '

 ***crack***

Looking down at his hand tightly gripping his duel disk he noticed a crack on the screen, nothing serious, he would just have to replace the LED screen…but his grip didn't ease up

' _I'm sorry that you got caught into this_ '

 ***crack***

One day Ruri would find out just how much he was to blame for this, that day she would harbor such hatred for him she would wonder if one could drown in it, but for now that day could wait.

Maybe that day he would be able to come to terms with what he was about to do, his free hand was now lingering on the bands of her bracelet.

' _Did you really thought it would be so easy?_ '

 ***crack***

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

' _Cheap-looking trinket_ ' he thought disdainfully, _'…yes it would, it would be so easy_ ' his grip got tighter and tighter…

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 ***CRACK***

* * *

This was my gift to tiera (nikkari-aoe on tumblr) for the Arc-V Secret Santa Challenge from back to 2015, I choose the prompt of Dennis+Ruri (And a bit of Dennis centric I guess)  
For obvious reasons my take on Ruri's character is composed of headcanons and speculations, also depending on future episodes this can easily fall into canon divergence or just plain AU (depending on your interpretation of the ending)

I tried my hardest to contrast Ruri's intuitive and natural but still childlike (I doubt she was older than 12-13 in those flashbacks) behaviour to contrast Dennis calculated one and his self-awaraness... Man I lost count of how many times and scenes I had to rewrite


End file.
